Al:
An amp that does not include 160 Meters is not a contest
amp. It's not much of an amp at all!
The 2-tube version of the Alpha 76A should fall within
your $1000 limit.
If you add ~$250 to your $1K limit, you can get one of
the 3-tube Alpha models (Alpha 76CA, Alpha 76PA), which
get you to 1500W and allow you to protect the fairly-
expensive 8874 tubes by not running them full-out all
the time. At the price of 8874s, the extra up-front cost
will likely be a very good investment!
We bought an Alpha 76CA (8874x3, Hipersil transformer)
with good tubes recently for $1250 to use at PJ2T.
73, Jeff K8ND
> -----Original Message-----
> From: cq-contest-bounces@contesting.com
> [mailto:cq-contest-bounces@contesting.com]On Behalf Of Alfred J. Frugoli
> (KE1FO)
> Sent: Friday, August 20, 2004 10:17 AM
> To: amps@contesting.com,
> Subject: [CQ-Contest] Contest amps under $1000
>
>
> What amps are out there on the used market fur under $1000 that are
> sufficient
> for contest service (i.e. occational high swr due to tx into wrong antenna at
> 3am, easy to tune etc.)
>
> I've investigated several amps already, and here are my thoughts.
>
> SB-220
> If driven hard can get close to 1.5kw output but it was only designed for 1kw
> input cw and 2kw input ssb. Tubes are easy to come by. Possible VHF
> parasitic
> issues, although if operated within specs these issues are deminished. No 160
>
> TL-922
> Similar to SB-220 except cost is higher - worth the extra 300-400$?
>
> MLA2500
> Good solid amp. Again, claims of 1.3kw out in some places, but designed for
> 1kw input, not output rating. 8875 tubes very expensive if they can be found
> at all. Can convert to 4cx400 or 3cx800 but I'm not an experienced builder
> and
> the directions for these conversions make my head spin.
>
> Alpha 374
> No 160 (unless it's an A model). Not much out there on this amp, except that
> those who have them seem to like them. Bandpass tuning is a nice feature and
> could come in handy in a so2r situation. 8874 tube is still available.
>
> Al-80/SB-1000
> Decent amp. Tube easily available. Can produce 1kw if pushed. Forgiving of
> mistuning or mismatch. Easy to tune. I currently have an al-80 and like it.
>
> All of these amps were manufactured during the days when "legal limit" was
> 1kw
> input and therefore will give up about 1 s unit to todays "legal limit" of
> 1.5kw output. Are there any higher power output amps in the under $1000
> class?
>
> Thanks in advance for your comments and opinions.
>
> 73 de Al, KE1FO
>
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